Anyone used Ironwood for stringed Instruments?

In his book, "Wood in Australia", Bootle notes that Cooktown Ironwood "has potential for musical Instruments".
He later suggests that it could be used for a bridge or fingerboard on a guitar.

I bought some a couple of years ago from a guy in Nth Qld,
and I've never been very convinced on its suitability for Lutherie.
It does NOT have decent tap tone, and generally has a muffled , indistinct tone.

Has anyone tried using Cooktown Ironwood in a guitar or Bass?
If so, what aspect did you use it for, and how would you rate the Ironwood?
I dont feel the timber I have is suitable ,
but I would really love to hear any and all feedback from members that have their own experiences with Cooktown Ironwood.
You could help save this timber from being reduced to Cooktown Firewood . . lol

Ironwood is in the hard as nails class of timber so that makes it suitable for the parts of the guitar that Bootle recommends.
I can't imagine it being used for any other parts

No, I was only going to attempt a few fingerboards, but I dont think I will now.
I have a couple of boards that I cut to roughly that size 2 years ago,
and I think its a risk to use them , as they sound awful
compared to all other timber parts I'm using .
I know the argument is "the timber makes no difference " in an electric
but surely there's a point where that logic gets shaky.

I know Cooktown Ironwood is hard - really hard,
but I'd love to hear that someone has tried it for fingerboards
and been successful or otherwise.
but thanks, BobL

The characteristics of the timber used for a finger board or bridge is not the same as the characteristics of the timber used for a neck or body parts of a stringed instrument.

My limited understanding is the fingerboard and bridge do not need to "sound anything special". Instead the timber of these pieces should be dense so as to transmit the sound to the rest of the guitar. For a fingerboard it should also be hard wearing to withstand the wear from contract with especially steel strings.

Using ironwood for a body part (especially a solid body) is also inappropriate because of the unnecessary weight.

Hi Slapfest
Cooktown Ironwood is great for fingerboards and bridges. I have used it on an electric cello and it polishes up beautifully. The issue is working with fully interlocked grain. If you are not careful, pieces pop out when you are planing or machining it. You need to get it as close as you dare then sand it to final size. At around 1250 kg/m3 it is one of the most dense timbers in the world and sounds good but the finish is incredible - rich red with lots of depth.

BTW - timber does make a difference. Density & grain structure can all affect both sound and sustain.

If you have the ironwood - I would definitely use it. If you don't, send it to me and I'll use on my next bass build!
Cheers
Kevin

Run an electric guitar through a spectrum analyser and you will be able to measure the changes. Everything makes a measurable difference. Clamp a 2c piece to the headstock and see the change. Change the way the pickups are mounted and see the change. You need a "picking machine" to eliminate/minimise variations in the strike.

The question is whether that difference is large enough to be heard. That is uncertain.

I have not heard a guitar with an ironwood fretboard but I know people who have built with them and they claim they work well.

I've done blind tests with people on rosewood/ebony/maple. I can pretty much always hear the rosewood, can't usually pick maple vs ebony. It's also pretty easy to hear a 24 3/4 scale vs 25 1/2.

A lot of discussion about musical instruments is based on belief or is subjective. If you do a proper experiment some of those claims are shown to be incorrect. But then people will continue to believe what they want to believe, often in the face of strong evidence.

If you don't want your blanks I might be interested :)

No, I never used it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kev.au

Hi Slapfest
Cooktown Ironwood is great for fingerboards and bridges. I have used it on an electric cello and it polishes up beautifully. The issue is working with fully interlocked grain. If you are not careful, pieces pop out when you are planing or machining it. You need to get it as close as you dare then sand it to final size. At around 1250 kg/m3 it is one of the most dense timbers in the world and sounds good but the finish is incredible - rich red with lots of depth.

BTW - timber does make a difference. Density & grain structure can all affect both sound and sustain.

If you have the ironwood - I would definitely use it. If you don't, send it to me and I'll use on my next bass build!
Cheers
Kevin

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Hi Kevin, thinking about using Cooktown Ironwood for a cello fingerboard, how does yours looks now? I know that it oxides into a Burgandy colour, so wondering if your opinion on it has changed and whether you could share a photo?